"i live in the greatest country"

what do you do if you want to read a book that doesn't exist? that's exactly what happened about a year ago. we were living with my parents at the time, waiting for our house in asheville to sell, and the kids loved to crawl into their grandparents' laps to read a story. after going through countless tales of elmo and diego and dora, my dad asked me to pick up a children's book at the library on patriotism -- something that would help teach the kids why they should love this country, and what it means to be an american. the problem was, i couldn't find one.

so my father did his research. and he finally determined that the reason i couldn't find one was that no one had ever written one. so, back to my original question ... what do you do if you want a book that doesn't exist? for my dad, the answer was obvious: you write one yourself. you go through countless drafts, tweaking a word here, a phrase there -- all to make it readable, enjoyable, and educational at the same time for young children. then you secure the rights to photographs to go in the book. you hire a cover illustrator. you title it i live in the greatest country!. and then you have it published. check it out at http://www.patriotkidsusa.com/, and then, if you're so inclined, buy one. (it's also available on amazon and a few other sites, but they charge shipping.) happy reading!